Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University, 1953

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / One goal of science education reform is student attainment of scientific literacy. Therefore, it is imperative for science educators to identify its salient elements. A dimension of scientific literacy that warrants careful consideration is scientific thinking and effective ways to foster scientific thinking among students. This study examined the use of mental models as evidence of scientific thinking in the context of two instructional approaches, transmissional and constructivist. Types of mental models, frequency of explanative information, and scores on problem solving transfer questions were measured and compared among subjects in each instructional context. METHODS: Subjects consisted of sophomore biology students enrolled in general biology courses at three public high schools. The Group Assessment of Logical Thinking instrument was used to identify two equivalent groups with anN of 65. Each group was taught the molecular basis of sickle cell anemia and the principles of hemoglobin gel electrophoresis using one of the two instructional approaches at their schools during five instructional periods over the course of one week. Laboratory equipment and materials were provided by Boston University School of Medicine's MobileLab program. Following the instructional periods, each subject was asked to think aloud while responding to four problem solving transfer questions. Each response was audiotaped and videotaped. The interviews were transcribed and coded to identify types of mental models and explanative information. Subjects' answers to the problem solving transfer questions were scored using a rubric. RESULTS: Students taught in a constructivist context tended to use more complete mental models than students taught in a transmissional context. Fifty two percent of constructivist subjects and forty four percent of transmissional subjects demonstrated evidence of relevant mental models. Overall fifty two percent of the subjects expressed naive mental models with respect to content. There was no significant difference in the frequency of explanative information expressed by either group. Both groups scored poorly on the problem solving transfer problems. The average score for the constructivist group was 30% and the average score for the transmissional group was 34%. A significant correlation was found between the frequency of explanative information and scores on the problem-solving transfer questions, r = 0.766. CONCLUSION: The subjects exhibited difficulty in formulating and applying mental models to effectively answer problem solving transfer questions regardless of the context in which the subjects were taught. The results call into question the extent to which students have been taught to use mental models and more generally, the extent to which their prior academic experience has encouraged them to develop an awareness of scientific thinking skills. Implications of the study suggest further consideration of mental modeling in science education reform and the deliberate integration of an awareness of scientific thinking skills in the development of science curricula.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [157]-169). / It was the purpose of this study to test hypotheses concerning the relationship of the variables of self-esteem and stability of the self-concept to the relative level of personality adjustment, as well as to see how interactions of these variables in combination were related to adjustment. The study stemmed from an investigation by Brownfain which attempted to validate the stability of the self-concept as a predictor of personality adjustment . The variable of self-esteem was mentioned but not controlled in his study. The present study used a self-rating inventory devised by Brownfain in order to measure these independent variables, but examined them in relation to different adjustment criteria.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / It is the purpose of this study to examine, describe, and compare the functions of two corner-group workers a female social worker working with a girls' corner-group and a male social worker working with a boys' corner-group. This topic is related to the research goals of the Special Youth Program, the agency from which the data have been drawn and within whose frame-work the research design has been fashioned.

INTRODUCTION: Healthcare practices are rapidly evolving, shifting to multidisciplinary initiatives, and prompting a reevaluation of the current structure in the preparation of medical students. The response of medical schools is to adopt newly modeled curricula that use a flipped classroom structure to implement an integrated curriculum encouraging the practice of multidisciplinary inquiry within the basic sciences to develop physicians capable of thoughtful clinical reasoning skills. This pedagogical shift in medical education and the prevailing reaction of medical schools to fundamentally reform curriculum has lead to the emergence of a demand for innovative educational technology capable of effective distribution of pre-class material. OBJECTIVE: Assess student experience of SoftChalk online biochemistry modules as a pre-class learning tool to determine effectiveness in fostering student learning and engagement. In evaluating perceptions on improvement, future modules can be knowledgeably revised to maximize educational gains and elucidate effective/ineffective implementation practices. Data was stratified by previous biochemistry experience to determine if students who have taken the same traditionally instructed graduate biochemistry course (BI751) would have differing thematic opinions of the flipped model’s pre-learning environment. METHODS: Participants were Boston University’s first year medical school students (n=165) class of 2019’ in an integrated curriculum containing basic science modules. After completion of the modules a mixed-methods anonymous survey with a thematic approach to assess experience and improvement of SoftChalk biochemistry modules were emailed, with reminders. The survey contained demographic data, qualitative free response questions, and likert scale assessment questions with no incentive for completion. The data was analyzed independently by researchers to assess common themes and stratified by previous biochemistry experience. RESULTS: Three main themes emerged in assessment of data: SoftChalk as a quality learning tool, lack of integration/consistency, and formatting concerns with an overall positive perception of the pre-learning tool. Respondents commented on quality of SoftChalk as a pre-learning tool; the majority deeming it helpful, interactive, and having beneficial activities. Integration and consistency concerns surfaced in both experience, with commentary on pre-class modules being too dense, and improvement by consolidating information into one resource. The major formatting concern was the ability to maintain module value in paper form. Themes were furthered by the quantitative data with students perceiving SoftChalk as effective, providing a foundation for material in-class, and questions having the correct difficulty. When data was stratified BI751 disagreed that SoftChalk helped students stay on track with course material despite the class on average agreeing. CONCLUSIONS: While SoftChalk is an effective pre-class learning tool, the challenge is in reversing students’ perceptions that basic material should be instructed and that a comprehensive syllabus is necessary. Future SoftChalk modules can enhance success if pre-class modules are condensed, have a stronger transition from pre-class information to in-class activities and maintain consistency among instructor expectations.

Thesis (M.M.)--Boston University

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / The purpose of this dissertation is to determine what takes place on the human side when a man says he has an encounter with God, with special reference to the thought of Martin Buber and of the Hebrew prophet, Jeremiah. The method has been to characterize each man's thought; to pay particular attention to the data lending themselves to psychological description, to the end of analyzing encounter with God in its epistemic, psychological and existential modes. On the basis of these characterizations, each of these men has been compared to the other to determine likenesses and differences; to assay the effect of culture at points of difference; and to summarize the points of likeness which might have abiding value. Findings and conclusions are: 1. Buber and Jeremiah find man's essential nature incomplete apart from relation to God. Fulfilment is possible in what Buber terms an I-Thou relation--a subject-subject relation as opposed to the subject-object relation of knowledge. Subject-subject relation is made possible by a unique category of being, which Buber calls the inborn Thou. This is not to say that man has an original self. A self has to be won. 2. A sense of lack (anxiety), a reaching out, the dual gestalt of man's own being together with objective reference of the Thou, a sense of fulfillment by a Persons over against one, standing in the relation of love--these minimal elements of encounter constitute the fountainhead of religion and ethics, as well as the occasion for man's social being to emerge and to be kept intact. Revelation comes in the form of Presence--presence as power. No verbal message is given. There is a sense of reciprocal relation, of inexpressible confirmation, and of an urge to act out the power of it in the world. 3. Jeremiah conceived man to be created by God and endowed with a drive to fulfillment like the migratory instinct in birds. Man is free to direct this drive toward God and find fulfilment, or to direct it elsewhere with little promise in the face of his precarious existence. 4. For both men, one's religious knowledge and his cultural modes of thought were part of the whole person taken into encounter and could affect the subsequent interpretation of it. Neither believed that encounter was sufficient without the remainder of experience; nor did either conceive the experience of immediacy as resulting from any form of mystical absorption. Jeremiah's tribal consciousness lends itself aptly both to illustrate the limits which culture can impose on revelation and also to reveal how the Presence can transcend the limits. 5. Relation to God is necessary for maintaining the integrity of one's I; otherwise, the world of things assumes the mastery, and persons are cheapened (Buber); or man loses his moral fibre (Jeremiah). 6. Jeremiah negatively illustrates Buber's judgment that verbal messages are not given in revelation. Recently from the Presence, he put his own thoughts into the mouth of God and delivered them as a "Thus saith the Lord." The mistakes he made indicate that alleged verbal messages in revelation do not stand on their own authority. They need further testing. 7. Buber and Jeremiah fonnd that perceptual data of religion gained in concrete life-situations were a reliable foundation upon which to build coherent religious truth. They would agree that this method of gaining religious truth has been a distinctive contribution of the Hebrew-Jewish religion.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Boston University, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 344-355). Available also from the ProQuest website.